


Home for Christmas

by pocky_slash



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Christmas, M/M, Reunions, Subterfuge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-12-05
Updated: 2007-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:22:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24271279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pocky_slash/pseuds/pocky_slash
Summary: Will isn't as stupid as Toby thinks he is.
Relationships: Will Bailey/Sam Seaborn
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	Home for Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> The lovely, talented, fabulous [](https://scrollgirl.livejournal.com/profile)[**scrollgirl**](https://scrollgirl.livejournal.com/) requested Will/Sam on Christmas morning. The second section is an interesting twist on a trope I've used a few times (if you could call an element of a pairing that only two people write a "trope."). Anyway, I hope you enjoy. Tomorrow I'm going to beg someone to help me find boots.
> 
> (Like, actually boots to wear, not illegal recordings of broadway shows.)

The door slamming didn't wake Will. The coffeemaker turning on didn't wake him either, actually, nor did the footsteps or the rustling of another presence in the apartment. Sam was starting to think that _nothing_ was going to wake him up, short of someone bounding on top of the bed.

Sam glanced around the empty bedroom and shrugged before doing just that.

After the ensuing scuffle, in which Sam narrowing avoiding being smacked in the face, Sam settled down on the edge of the bed, grinning as Will pawed ineffectually at his eyes and finally reached for his glasses.

"Merry Christmas," Sam said.

"Aren't you supposed to be in California?" Will muttered in reply. It wasn't exactly the homecoming that Sam had been picturing, but he also hadn't planned on being back home so soon.

"Even politicians are allowed Christmas off to visit their families," Sam said. He rolled onto his side, propping his head up with his hand and grinning at Will. He couldn't help it, even though he knew he probably looked like a doofus.

"Then visit your family," Will muttered. The _and let me sleep_ was clearly implied by the pillow he pulled over his face.

"I am," Sam said, smirk spreading across his face. The pillow inched back and Will was squinting at him.

"You just had have the perfect line to answer that, didn't you?" he said after a moment.

"Yup."

"Are you familiar with the phrase 'moving too fast?'"

Sam snorted and sat up, kicking off his shoes and unbuckling his belt.

"Right now, I'm really only concerned with moving fast enough to get back into bed," he said. Will made a cranky morning noise and rolled over, holding the blankets open for Sam once he dropped his belt and pants on top of his shoes, crawling into bed wearing only his boxers and t-shirt. Will's arm automatically curled around his waist, and Sam felt a soft exhale against the back of his neck.

Sam missed this. Except, that wasn't right, because he hadn't really gotten it yet. This... whatever it was... was too new and too poorly timed to allow for much sleeping together in a non-euphenistic sense.

"My dad and stepmom are in town tomorrow," Will murmured. "For dinner."

"I can be elsewhere," Sam said, laying his fingers over Will's.

"No," Will said, "I want you to meet them."

Sam raised an eyebrow, although he knew Will couldn't see it. He rolled over, slightly, glancing over his shoulder at Will. "Now who's moving too fast?"

Will snorted softly and pressed his face into Sam's neck. "Shut up. I talk about you all the damn time. I did it before we were fucking. He wants to meet you. Barbara, too."

"All the time?" Sam preened a little. "Really?"

"Oh for god's sake will the two of you shut up?" Elsie shouted from the living room. "Some of us were out until four o'clock in the morning, thanks _William_."

Sam laughed, but rolled over and let Will put a hand over his mouth.

"We'll talk when I've had more than three hours of sleep," Will said quietly and, much to Sam's disbelief, fell asleep between one breath and the next. Sam would have been insulted if it weren't for the fact that his own eyelids were suddenly feeling just a heavy.

*

Will had barely hung his scarf up in Sam's office before Toby was in the doorway, glaring at him.

"Good morning, Toby," he said, unbuttoning his coat. "How is Andi?"

Toby threw a newspaper of his (Sam's) desk.

"How's Sam?" Toby snapped, gesturing towards a short article below the fold on the third page of the national politics section. There was a photo attached to it, and Will noted that at least he hadn't been cropped out.

"That's a good picture of him," Will said.

"Sam's freakishly attractive, of course it's a good picture of him," Toby said. "I'm more interested in the headline. 'California Congressional hopeful gets advice from former SACEUR.'" He gave Will a pointed look.

"They didn't talk politics. It says so in the article," Will pointed out. That didn't soften Toby's glare any.

"You know, I told you, I _told you_ , Will, that if you were going to be sleeping with Sam Seaborn you were going to have to be circumspect about it and what do you do?" He slammed his fist down on the paper. "You take him out to Christmas dinner with your four-star-general father!"

"He's not just my father," Will said quietly. He walked around Toby and took a seat at his desk, reaching over Toby's arm to grab the stack of papers in his inbox.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Will tapped the picture. "He's Elsie's father too, Toby."

Toby leaned over, examining the picture more closely. Sam, Elsie, and General Bailey were centered in the middle of it, talking animatedly. Will and Barbara were off to the side, out of focus. After a few moments of silence, Toby spoke again.

"Okay, explain," he said.

Will took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "It's a picture of Elsie and Sam and my dad. They mention Elsie by name in the article twice. I'm referenced twice too, once by Sam as his former campaign manager and once in the text immediately afterwards, explaining my role in the Wilde campaign. My _sister_ who writes jokes for the First Lady, is mentioned twice by name." He replaced his glasses and looked Toby straight in the eye. "I'm not a newbie, Toby. I might be green to the White House, but I've been in politics my entire life. I know what I'm doing."

Toby rubbed his face roughly with one hand. "They think he's sleeping with your sister."

Will merely raised his eyebrows before returning to the marked up draft copies on his desk.

"Elsie's from a prominent political family," he said as he turned a page. "She's smart, she's funny, she's attractive, and she's working for the First Lady. They're both single. If Sam were to be dating a woman, there's no one better."

"Okay, so you're not as dumb as I thought you were," Toby admitted. "I still want you to move out of his apartment and into a hotel."

Will groaned. "Come on, Toby!" he said. "Do you realize I've been living out of hotels for the past nine months? Do you know how nice it is to have all my things in one place and not have to worry about the maid pawing through my stuff?"

"I'll make a reservation at the Holiday Inn, I want you in there tonight."

Will sighed.

"And, uh," Toby added absently. "Andi is... um, fine." He turned and headed out of the office. "And I want a new draft of section four by lunch."

Will rolled his eyes and reached for the phone.

"And use your damned cellphone!" Toby shouted from the other room, before slamming his door. Will dropped the phone back into the cradle. Calling Sam could probably wait until after section four...


End file.
